


Dolor Cordi

by Hyperionova



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Best friend's brother, Eventual Smut, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, One-Sided Love, Pining, Private Investigator Rune, college student sehun, friends - Freeform, twoshots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 01:25:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17715410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyperionova/pseuds/Hyperionova
Summary: Sehun sees everyone but Rune.





	1. Chapter 1

He neatened the creases on the front of his shirt and ran a hand through his chestnut-coloured hair. He then looked down at the wrapped present in his hands. Sage would like the present he got her, he thought. It was a high-end candleholder. She loved all things expensive, sparkly and artsy.

He could hear the blaring music on the side of the door as he restlessly tapped his foot on the ground, lifting a finger to ring the doorbell again. Before he could, the door swung open to reveal a party girl in fishnet stockings and with a big, glittery bow on her head.

“Sehun,” she said, holding her cup up as she mustered him from head to toe. “Did the invitation say ‘dress _down’_ , please?”

Sehun rolled his eyes and stepped inside to give his best friend half a hug. “Happy birthday, Sage.”

“Ooh! Is this for me?!” She pried the present from Sehun’s hands after squirming out of his embrace and skipped away. “Drinks are on the counter! Help yourself and mingle! I’ll be right back!”

Shaking his head, Sehun scanned the apartment. There weren’t as many people as he thought there’d be, but they were still quite a big lot. And he did not recognize most of them. And those he did recognize he was not exactly acquainted with. They were the subjects of Sage’s endless narrations and gossips about the ‘aggravating’ people at her college.

They paid him no mind as he jostled through the crowd to get to the kitchen for a drink. He ignored the couple making out by the refrigerator and grabbed himself a bottle of beer from the kitchen counter before wending his around the kitchen, looking for a bottle opener.

“Good to know I’m not the only one who’s lost in this tasteless obscenity,” came a gruff voice from behind him all of a sudden.

With a sheepish grin, Sehun turned around to meet a pair of familiar icy blue eyes, whose owner was smiling down at him. “Well, I’m not surprised this isn’t your scene, old man,” commented Sehun, smirking as he went in for half a hug.

Rune groaned and then chuckled. “If only she weren’t my sister, I would have thrown her out by now,” the taller, bulkier, scruffier man said, prying the beer bottle out of Sehun’s hand. Sehun shook his head while Sage’s older brother covered the cap of the bottle with the hem of his shirt before loosening it with his bare hand.

Sehun then surveyed the man’s appearance. “I have never seen you in a T-shirt before,” he noted, taking in Rune’s dark blue long-sleeved T-shirt.

“I just came out of here for a sandwich,” said the other man, sighing. His lips slowly stretched back into a grin before he looked away, rubbing the back of his head.

Sehun remembered the first time he had met the man. He and Sage must have been around thirteen years old. And Rune was probably in his early twenties. Even then, the man carried a body and a scowl that would have made anyone soil their pants.

Unlike Sage, her brother was all things serious. He meant business and had no time for nonsense. Sehun could respect that quality in a man like Rune. Especially when he was one of the best private investigators known in town. His reputation certainly preceded him.

“Here.” He handed Sehun the opened bottle back before strutting over to the refrigerator. “I need the two of you to get the hell away from my goddamn fridge right this instant and go fornicate someplace else,” he growled at the couple with a taut glower on his eyebrows. As soon as the couple scurried away at his threat, Rune wrenched the refrigerator door open and fished out a wrapped sandwich.

“Making friends everywhere, aren’t you, Officer Rune,” Sehun remarked, simpering.

Rune pulled a face, reaching out for a beer. “Don’t call me that.”

Sehun sidled up to him. “Yes, sir.”

“Don’t call me that either,” Rune grumbled, refusing to look at Sehun as he scooted away from the latter. Sehun noticed the flush that reddened the man’s thick, strong neck.

Smirking, Sehun held out his bottle, and after a moment of reluctance, Rune clanged it with his own before they took a sip of their beer.

Rune then glanced over to the partying, chattering crowd. “I can’t believe I agreed to this.”

“Well, it _is_ her birthday.” Sehun moved closer to the man. Rune stepped away, as though Sehun had invaded his private space. “And you do care about her because you’re all marshmallow on the inside, Mr. Toughie-Tough-Tough.”

He had learned that about Rune only years after knowing the man. Rune put up a lot of walls around him, unlike his sister who laid her heart around so carelessly. And he did not let his walls down no matter what. It had never been easy to read the man. Once, Sage had told Sehun that her brother had gotten his heart broken by the woman he loved the most. Ever since, Rune was a changed man, who sheltered his heart aggressively.

But deep down, Sehun knew Rune had his vulnerabilities. And sometimes, he would be able to catch glimpses of those vulnerabilities. And they were beautiful, Sehun thought.

In spite of all that, Sehun did not know much about his best friend’s brother, except that he had dreamy blue eyes, carried the build of a fictional war hero, had great, broad shoulders, a bronze skin, a trimmed scruff on his wide, angular jaw, and a mass of beautiful dark mane on his head. Sage was technically the female counterpart of all that sexiness.

Not that Sehun found Rune _sexy._ That would just be weird…

“I’m not,” Rune argued, scowling. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.” Sehun took another swig of his beer before he looked over to Sage, who had stormed into the kitchen.

“Ooh! Are you finally out of your office for some fun?!” she cooed, clinging to her brother’s thick, muscled arm.

Rune rolled his eyes. “No. I can’t hear myself think in there with all these noises. I’m just getting a sandwich and heading back to my work.”

Sage pouted. “Ugh. When did you get so old?”

Sehun did not know why his eyes travelled to the little, scarce white hairs in the man’s scruff then. Rune was not old. He was in his thirties. But he was a lot older than Sage and Sehun, and he often opted to take the role of a parent to his sister rather than a brother.

“Hmm. Since you moved in to torment the living daylights out of me,” said Rune.

“I will be out of your hair as soon as I graduate from college! Then you’re going to miss me.”

“Can I get that in writing? Because I long for the day,” Rune joked. Because Sehun knew that in spite of all of their discourses and petty arguments, Sage and Rune valued each other, as they were all that they had left after their parents had filed for a divorce.

Pulling away from her brother, Sage threw her arms around Sehun and grinned wide. “I have someone for you to meet!”

Sehun blinked, holding onto her waist. “Who?”

“Ethan. Remember Ethan? I told you about him. He’s here.”

Sehun vaguely recollected the instances the name was mentioned. Sage wanted Ethan and him to get to know each other so that they could ‘start bumpin’ uglies’, as to quote her.

“He’s here?” Sehun’s eyes broadened.

“Yes! Come!” Taking his hand, she started tugging him toward the living room. He made a tortured face as he brushed past Rune, who pressed his lips into a thin smile before he lowered his head, fidgeting with his bottle.

“Sage, I don’t think this is a good—” Sehun began to say as Sage dragged him through the crowd.

“You hush! You’re going to like him, Sehun!” she declared. Not bothering to fight her anymore on it, Sehun looked ahead at the tall, brown-haired man Sage was hauling him towards.

He felt his heart skip a beat. Ethan was far more attractive in real than in the pictures Sage had shown him. He had a pleasant smile about him, did not look any older than Sehun was, and looked presentable. His gaze turned to Sehun when he saw the latter approach him.

“Hey, Ethan,” Sage called. Ethan smiled at her, nursing a drink in his hand. “This is my best friend, Sehun. I spoke to you about him a couple of times in HRM, remember?”

Ethan’s smug smile then turned to Sehun. “Oh, yeah. The one that goes to the campus on Southland. Hi, I’m Ethan.” He held a hand out. Sehun took it, shook it, reluctantly released it.

“Sehun,” he muttered coyly, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans, wondering what Sage had told Ethan about him.

“Sehun,” Sage then rasped. “Didn’t you say that you needed someone to go to some book fair with you tomorrow? Ethan reads books.”

“Wow, that’s _ground-breaking_. Please, do tell me more,” Rune replied from behind, and Sehun almost jumped with a start as he looked back at the bigger man.

Sage scowled at her brother and hissed at him, “This party is not for you. Go away.”

Rune shrugged and took a draft of his beer before walking away, biting into his sandwich.

Sehun returned his attention to Ethan, who was still mustering him from top to bottom.

“You know, you two should exchange numbers,” said Sage.

“I would like to go to the book fair,” said Ethan then, smirking.

Sehun licked his smiling lips. “It’s just near the city hall,” he told Ethan. “Tomorrow at 7 p.m. If you’re interested, I can, um, text you the address.”

Sage patted Sehun’s butt. “I see that this party has started for you,” she muttered into Sehun’s ear. “Have fun.”

As she disappeared into the crowd, Sehun knocked back some of his beer. “So, are you… liking the party?” he asked Ethan.

“A little.” He had pretty brown eyes. “But I think it’s about to get a lot better now, though.”

Sehun grinned despite himself.

He got to know a few more of Ethan and Sage’s friends through the course of the evening. He even got to dance with Ethan eventually. When Sage announced that they should be heading downtown for the afterparty, Ethan invited Sehun to go along.

“I’d love to,” said Sehun, realizing that he was starting to like Ethan’s company more than he had anticipated.

As Sage cleared out the apartment, Sehun found himself in the bathroom, neatening his hair and clothes before he stepped out to find Rune with a trash bag, picking up empty bottles, cans and cups.

“Hey,” Sehun muttered.

Rune lifted his head to look at him and grabbed the remote to turn the music off. “You’re not going with them?” he asked.

Sehun bit his lip as he glanced around the apartment. “I am.” He crossed his arms over his chest, watching Rune nod his head curtly as he cleared the coffee table with an irked scowl etched on his eyebrows. “Do you… need help?”

Rune looked up at him again. But only for a brief second before he lowered his gaze and shook his head. “No, I’m good. You… You can go ahead.”

“All right.” Sehun started toward the door when Rune cleared his throat.

“He used to be in juvey, just so you know.”

Sehun stopped and blinked blankly at the other. “What?”

Rune made a face. “Ran a background check on your friend Ethan. Has a history with weed.”

Sehun’s jaw fell slack. “You… looked him up?”

That was when Rune’s expression wilted, and he turned his attention back to picking up the cans. “It’s my profession.”

“To run background checks on random people? Or to be a complete cynic all the time?”

Rune dropped the trash bag and faced Sehun with a glower. “If you didn’t want to know more about him, then I’m sorry.”

Sehun laughed humourlessly. “I just… didn’t think it was any of your business, but… you care about me?”

Rune’s frown deepened now. “Of course… I care about you.” He sounded like he was choking.

“Aw.” Sehun grinned. “That’s… cute.”

“Shut up.”

Sehun grabbed a few bottles from the credenza and walked over to Rune before dumping them into the trash bag. “It’s sweet that you care about me. The way you care about Sage. You just have a… funny way of showing it.”

“I do not care about you the way I care about Sage,” Rune groaned.

“Yeah, yeah. Sure. But Ethan is not a convict. You can turn off that suspicious PI Degenhard.” He smiled and gave Rune’s arm a playful punch. “Good night, Rune. I’ll… see you when I see you, I guess.”

Rune nodded tautly, not meeting Sehun’s eyes.

* * *

“So, do you like him?” Sage asked on the other end of the line.

Sehun shook his head as he strutted along the sidewalk, looking for the venue of the book fair. “He’s all right.”

“Cut it out!” she screeched. “You two were talking and dancing all night! And he totally likes you.”

Sehun swallowed hard. “Did he… tell you anything?”

He would admit that he did have more fun than he had expected to last night. Ethan was a decent guy, and he was clearly a socialite. He also certainly knew how to flirt. Not that Sehun was bad at it himself, but it had been a while since he had gone out with anybody.

It had actually been three years. His last relationship was in his final year of high school, and it had ended on mutual terms. He had not felt like investing that kind of energy into a relationship since then, especially since college had been keeping him thoroughly busy for the past two and half years.

Now that he was about to graduate soon, he supposed it would be nice to dive into some kind of commitment again. Ethan seemed like he would be worth it.

“No, I haven’t talked to him since last night,” said Sage, voice thick with the misery of hangover. “Didn’t _you_ talk to him?”

“I texted him the address of the book fair, but I haven’t received a reply,” said Sehun, glancing over to the bustling streets of the city that never slept as the evening wore on.

“Ah… Well, let me know how the night goes. I’m heading out in a while.”

“Okay.” Hanging up, Sehun gazed ahead at the building where the book fair was taking place. He was such a nerd for spending his Saturday evening at a book fair. But he had always been a total bookworm since he was a child. While his brothers wanted BB guns or _Hot Wheels_ , Sehun would ask for a good book or two for his birthdays. He was glad that Ethan was interested in going to the book fair with him.

He had not learned much about Ethan last night. He was certainly looking forward to getting to know him better tonight. He had a good feeling about the guy.

So, he waited outside for Ethan to show up or at least respond to his text for almost an hour before he decided to check out the book fair on his own while waiting for Ethan. It did not make things any better as he paced around the venue with his heart in his mouth, anxiously wondering if the guy were deliberately ignoring him.

Sehun was an optimist, although he was not as inclined to look at the world through rose-coloured spectacles as Sage was, but he was definitely not a deep-dyed pessimist like Rune. This situation, however, was making him nervous.

By nine o’clock, he realized that Ethan was not going to make appearance. So, he stormed out of the building, feeling dejected and upset and all sorts of negative emotions. Anger being one of them.

He had half the mind to send Ethan a long text of what a jerk he was, but the other half of him also considered the idea of Ethan being in an unfortunate circumstance. Even so, he could not overlook the disappointment that bubbled up in his chest and muddled his head.

He was not really sure how he had landed in a bar near the book fair, but he was now downing his fourth glass as his surroundings begin to blur and fade away.

Yanking his phone out of his jacket pocket, he dialled Sage’s number. She did not pick up. Pouting, he looked at Rune’s number beneath Sage’s and decided to give it a ring without giving it a second thought.

“Sehun?” Rune answered the call, sounding surprised and a little bit tired.

“Hey,” Sehun drawled. “You busy?”

“Uh… Still at work. Why? Where are you?”

Sehun sucked in a deep breath. “I got stood up by that… Ethan. I’m at a… bar.”

“Are you drunk? You sound drunk.”

“A little bit,” Sehun mumbled. “Can you come have a drink with me? I feel pathetic drinking alone.”

Rune was silent on the other end for a moment. Then with a sigh, he said, “Which bar are you at?”

* * *

Rune showed up twenty minutes later.

“God,” he growled as he stomped up to the bar counter, clad in his usual leather jacket and black shirt. Sehun flashed an idiotic grin at him as his head continued to swirl. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

“What?” Sehun whined. “No. Drink with me, Rune.”

Rune gave him a black look. “I’m not going to drink with you, Sehun. It’s almost midnight. I’m going to take you home.” He hooked an arm around Sehun’s and hauled him up to his feet. “And then I’m going to hunt that bastard down to kill him,” he said in a low mutter. Sehun heard it. And it made him smile.

“You’re cute when you’re protective,” Sehun commented drowsily as he clung onto one of Rune’s thick arms.

Rune rolled his eyes, but not even his dark skin could hide the floridness that crept up the back of his neck. “Come on.”

Sehun then threw an arm around Rune’s shoulders for a better support as he was dragged out of the bar. Grabbing onto Sehun’s arm with one hand, Rune firmly rested the other on the small of Sehun’s back.

The cold air of the night slapped Sehun against his cheeks as soon as they were outside. It felt both refreshing and harsh. He snuggled closer to Rune for warmth.

“He didn’t even… text me back,” he mumbled, leaning his head against Rune’s shoulder.

“Hm.”

“So rude. Ruder than you. And I never knew I’d ever meet someone that’s more discourteous than you are.”

He felt Rune shudder when he looked up at the man and his nose brushed against Rune’s neck. “You think I’m rude?”

“Rude Rune, Rune Rude,” Sehun droned. “It rhymes.”

“I’m not… rude. I’m straightforward.”

“And mean.” He chuckled, leaning his weight heavily against the bigger, stronger man. Rune did not seem to mind as he tightened his arm around Sehun’s waist to keep him up. “Is it because your girlfriend broke your heart a very, very long time ago? Is that why you became an unapproachable, disdainful, standoffish, mean, rude, uptight, cold brute?”

Rune kept mum, eyebrows drawing low into a frown.

“But Ethan’s… not all that. He was… nice,” Sehun sighed, wobbling against Rune. “Didn’t think he’d be so… rude. Maybe… Maybe something happened. Do you think something happened?”

“You really like him that much that this bothers you?”

Sehun nodded his head. “We… bonded! Last night.”

“Bonded.” Rune scoffed.

“Yes. But you haven’t answered my question.” He came to a halt and grabbed Rune by the lapels of his jacket. Rune stopped, eyes widening as Sehun clutched at his jacket. “Did… she hurt you? Broke you… heart?”

Rune looked like he was in pain just from hearing that. His blue eyes bored into Sehun’s for a long moment while his hands were balled into fists at his sides. “Sehun, I’m going to take you home, okay?” he said at length.

“No!” Sehun yapped. “I don’t want to go home. I want to see Sage.”

“She’s not home.”

“I don’t want to go home,” he whimpered, bumping his forehead against Rune’s chest. Oh, he had a strong, properly muscled chest, Sehun thought.

“Come on,” Rune grunted and seized Sehun’s arm to yank him toward the car.

“Ow! Let go.” He tried to fight the man weakly but conceded defeat when Rune’s hand only tightened around his arm.

When they reached Rune’s car, he was strapped into the passenger seat before Rune climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Rune,” Sehun moaned, grabbing onto Rune’s sleeve. Rune paused, heaved a breath and turned his head to look at Sehun with a flustered expression. “I don’t want to go back to my dorm. Please.”

Rune’s gaze was wandering all over Sehun’s red face. Lips, cheeks, eyes, nose. Then cursing under his breath, he started the engine and pulled the car onto the road.

Sehun closed his eyes, dropping his head back against the seat.

When the car stopped again, Rune was unfastening Sehun’s seatbelt. Sehun voiced no objection as he was coaxed out of the car. It looked like the parking lot of Rune and Sage’s apartment building.

“I’m sorry,” Sehun said as Rune drew him towards the elevators.

“It’s okay,” muttered Rune. The exhaustion was clear in his gravelly voice.

“You don’t even know what I’m sorry for.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Why are you always so nice to me?”

Rune did not answer that question as he pulled Sehun into the elevator.

“You’re good, you know. You’re a good man.” Sehun brought a hand to Rune’s chest, as though to tell him that he had good in his heart.

Rune froze at the gesture. He constantly looked like he was hurting every time Sehun went near him or touched him. “I thought you had a different list of adjectives assigned to my character,” he told Sehun.

“Yes. But good is also one of them,” he mumbled. “Which is why I want you to be happy. Sage wants you to be happy.”

Rune stared ahead, eyes hard and stony.

“Rune?” Sehun called in a weak whimper. Rune did not respond as he squared his shoulders. It almost looked as if he were preparing for either fight or flight.

He smelled great. Like the crispness of the ocean and the sharpness of musk. Sehun supposed the man was not only easy on the eyes. But he also had a great character in spite of his lack of faith in humankind.

“Rune,” he mumbled again, closing whatever distance that was left between them.

Now pressed against the elevator wall, Rune scowled and growled at him. “Sehun, _stop._ ”

Sehun frowned. What was he… doing that he needed to ‘stop’? That was when he noticed his fingers that were hooked around the belt loops of Rune’s pants.

The ‘ding’ the elevator made rang in Sehun’s ears when they reached their floor. Wrapping his large, callused hand around Sehun’s wrist, Rune yanked his hand away and ushered Sehun out of the elevator.

Sehun scratched the back of his head as he walked after Rune in a bevvied trance. “Why do you think he stood me up? Do you think… he doesn’t find me attractive?” he asked Rune.

Rune, once again, held onto his silence.

Sehun grabbed Rune’s arm. “Am I not good looking?”

“Sehun,” Rune groaned, taking a few deep, exasperated breaths.

“Am I annoying? Am I annoying you?”

“Fuck if you knew what you’re actually doing to me…” Rune spat furiously.

Sehun felt a lump in his throat. He felt sad. Was Rune scolding him? Was Rune annoyed? Was he mad?

“What am I… doing?” he asked sadly.

Rune stopped when they reached his apartment.

“Am I making you mad?” Sehun asked.

Rune turned to face him. Sehun retreated until his back was pinned against a wall. Rune then raised a hand to the wall near Sehun’s head. “Yes, you are driving me mad,” he snarled. Sehun blinked. “You see everyone but me.”

He did not understand what that was supposed to mean. He was not in the right mind to comprehend it either. Rune did not look _mad_. He looked… distraught and conflicted. His eyes eventually softened as they lowered to stare at Sehun’s parted lips.

This was perhaps one of those rare moments when Rune let himself be vulnerable. The longing in his gaze was raw, the breath snagging at his chest was desperate.

Before Sehun even knew what he was doing, he was leaning forward. And Rune backed away as though he were scorched. Sehun vacantly stared at him, embarrassed and confused.

Was he about to kiss Rune?

Rune?!

“I’m so drunk,” Sehun let out, rubbing his forehead.

After a moment, Rune unlocked his apartment door and waited for Sehun to step inside. “You should get to bed. I’ll get you some water.”

While Rune started for the kitchen, Sehun dawdled down the dark hallway until he reached Rune’s bedroom. He knew Sage would not mind him crashing on her bed, but Rune’s bed was bigger. Cosier. And it probably smelled like him.

As he collapsed on it, he buried his face in one of the pillows and inhaled sharply. It did smell like Rune. And Sehun suddenly felt the safest he had been.

“What are you doing… in here?” he heard Rune say when the latter entered the room. Cracking an eye open, Sehun peered at the man, who was frowning at him with a glass of water in his hand.

With a big sigh then, Rune placed the water on the bedside table and bent to remove Sehun’s shoes. Sehun let him because he was too inebriated to move a limb anymore.

“Let’s get that off, too,” Rune murmured as he shifted to peel the jacket off Sehun. Just as he successfully managed to remove it, Sehun seized hold of Rune’s shirt collar and dragged him down. “Sehun!” he hissed, planting his hands into the mattress to hold himself up.

“Did she break your heart?” Sehun asked again in almost inaudible whisper now.

Rune went still on top of him, eyes searching for Sehun’s in the dark. Then in a sober yet quiet voice, he said, “Yes.”

Sehun felt his heart swell. His clutch on Rune’s shirt loosened before one of his hands cupped a side of the man’s stubbled jaw. “Do you still love her?”

Even in the dark, Sehun could make out the sincerity in Rune’s expression when he said, “No.”

“Then… why are you… still hurting?”

“Because that’s part of who I am,” Rune whispered. “I’m always hurt by the people I love the most.”

That sounded terrible. How could the people you love cause you pain? Sehun had come from a loving, supportive family. And he always had had wonderful friends. Sure, none of his relationships lasted but they did not end on a bad note either. So, he could not completely empathize with Rune’s situation.

“Who else… hurts you?” Sehun asked. It seemed nonviable for anyone to hurt a man like Rune. Not only physically but also emotionally.

Rune’s breathing quickened rapidly as his eyes narrowed on Sehun’s mouth. Sehun fixed his attention on his fingers that were pressed against Rune’s scruffy cheek. He had never touched Rune like this before. Hell, he had never been this close with the man before.

But right now, he did not want to be anywhere else. He stroked Rune’s jaw a few times with his fingers, eyelids falling heavier by the second. “You’re very handsome, you know that?” he mumbled, running the back of his fingers along Rune’s cheekbone. “Will you kiss me?”

Rune clenched his eyes, face twisting in anguish. Sehun let his hand drop from Rune’s face as his body promptly edged closer to a state of insentience. He felt Rune shift his weight on the mattress before he sat up on the edge of the bed. He did not rise from his seat for a very long time, and when Sehun glimpsed him for one last time, he saw Rune brooding with his head hung and eyebrows knitted.

* * *

He woke the next morning to a throbbing, brain-numbing headache. With a groggy groan, he sat up and rubbed his eyes on the hilt of his palms before pulling his eyes open to squint at the sunlight that poured into the room. It was not his room.

“Shit,” he let out in a hoarse breath, glancing around Rune’s bedroom. He then spent the next few minutes trying to recall the events of last night. He checked his phone first. There was a text message from Sage saying, _‘how did the date go?!’_

There was also a text message from Ethan. _‘sorry about last night. was busy. we can go for a cup of coffee today?’_

He slowly remembered that he got stood up by Ethan last night and then he had gotten sloshed at a bar. There were fragments of memories of Rune but nothing lucid.

He could hear Sage’s voice. Picking up his jacket from the chair near the bed, he wobbled his way out of the bedroom, massaging his pulsing temples.

“So, where did you sleep, then?” he heard Sage’s voice from the kitchen and started towards it.

“On the couch. Where else?” Rune replied.

“It’s not like him to get so drunk, though.” She sighed. “It’s my fault. Ethan was a bad idea.”

“Yeah, you bet your ass it’s your fault,” Rune growled.

“Why does this situation have _your_ panties in a bunch?”

Rune was quiet for a second before he said, “Because did you see who was inconvenienced at the end of the day? Me. That’s right. You two get into stupid boy problems and I’m the one who has to bail you out.”

“That’s not—” Sage cut herself off when she saw Sehun walk into the kitchen. “Well, look who’s up.”

Sehun winced at her cheery voice.

“I know,” Rune said. “It sounds like an alarm when you’re hungover.”

Sage scowled at her brother.

Sehun plumped on one of stools around the kitchen island and looked up at Rune, who was standing on the other side of the island with a mug of what smelled like good, warm coffee in his hand. The print on the mug read, **I HATE MONDAYS.**

“Can I have some coffee?” Sehun said, reaching out for Rune’s mug. Prying it out of the man’s hand, he greedily took a sip.

Rune stared at him.

“God, you look like shit,” remarked Sage. “What happened? I’m about to give Ethan a piece of my mind.”

“I saw his text from this morning,” Sehun sighed. “He said sorry and that he would like to have a cup of coffee with me.”

“Are you going to go?”

Sehun shrugged.

That was when Rune tossed the plate he was holding into the sink with more force than necessary and stormed out of the kitchen, saying, “I have to get to work.”

Sehun and Sage exchanged a look. “Is he okay?” he asked Sage.

“Hell if I know…” She ruffled Sehun’s hair.

* * *

A few days later, Sehun dropped by Rune’s office to thank him for what he had done the other night while he was bladdered.

He had only been to Rune’s office a couple of times, and both times, it had been with Sage. He had no other option to show up at his office since Rune was not returning any of his calls or text messages and every time Sehun had tried to catch him at home, he wasn’t in. Sage said that he was probably busy at work.

“Knock, knock,” he said, rapping his knuckles on the open door.

Rune craned his head up from where he sat at the desk and looked at Sehun with surprise. “Sehun?” He rose from his seat as Sehun sauntered into the room.

“I brought you some Chinese takeout,” said Sehun, holding up the paper bag before setting it down on the desk. “You weren’t answering any of my calls.”

Rune rubbed the back of his neck. “I was… buried in work.”

Sehun peered at the files and folders strewn over Rune’s desk. “I can see that.” He then turned to Rune again, surveying the towering man’s dishevelled appearance. Rune looked exhausted, shirt a little crumpled, strands of hair out of place. Not that any of made him look less attractive.

Clearing his throat, Rune ran his fingers along his stubble that was turning to a beard. “Thanks for dropping by. But… why are you here?”

“I wanted to thank you for taking me home the other night.”

Rune licked his lips. “Do you… remember anything else?”

Sehun shook his head, sighing. “I don’t know.”

Rune sank back in his seat on the other side of the desk and scrubbed his face with his bare palms. “Okay.”

“Why? Did something happen?”

“No,” Rune answered quickly. Sehun perched on an edge of the desk. Rune had a pretty neat office, just like his home. “So… Did you meet up with Ethan?”

Sehun smiled. “Yeah. And it seems like he… likes me.”

“Oh,” Rune muttered dully, picking up a folder.

“We’re actually going on a… proper date soon.”

“I see.” He kept his head low.

“I’m excited.”

Rune looked up at him again then, lips curling into a faint, forced smile. “I’m happy for you. Just… let me know if he hurts you. I’ll sock his ass.”

Sehun laughed. “And I completely believe that you will.” As he rose from the desk, Rune stood up, too. “Thanks again. For helping me out the other night.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Sehun,” Rune muttered. “I’ll always look out for you.”

Sehun smiled and leaned in for a hug. For a stretch, as he pressed his face to a side of Rune’s head and as Rune’s arm gently snaked around his waist, he did not want to pull back. Rune sucked in a sharp breath before he withdrew.

“I should… get back to work.”

“Right,” Sehun said and took a step back. “Don’t overwork yourself, old man.”

With that and a new, alien aching in his heart, he wended his way out of the office.


	2. Chapter 2

The wind writhed in the storm. The lightning and thunder that ensued broke every silver of silence of the night. Rune slammed his head back against the seat and sighed heavily as the raindrops continued to bullet down on the windshield. He glanced out the car window to look at the dormitory building again. When he went up there looking for Sehun earlier, he wasn’t in. His roommate had said that he was out.

Out with Ethan, Rune surmised. And he had spent the following two hours in his car, waiting for Sehun while the rain continued to pour brutally. He supposed he could try reaching through the phone, but he needed to see the boy.

The things that had happened the other night when Sehun was plastered had completely thrown Rune for a loop.

He was not entirely sure when it had started—his grievous attraction toward his sister’s best friend. It probably started when he first saw Sehun when he returned home after two years of working on an assignment in Siberia. Even then, it had crushed him a little. He knew it was not only inappropriate, it was also unbelievably unfair.

He still remembered the day he came back home to his sister and found Sehun with her, standing taller than he was the last time Rune had seen him, skin still pale and beautiful, fingers slender, shoulders broader than they used to be, and God, when those plump, rosy lips smiled at him, Rune almost heard his heart shatter.

The only other time he had been struck by such agonizing feelings for someone, he was left betrayed and with wounds that could never really heal. It was also the only time he had ever opened himself up to someone.

With Sehun, however, it was different. Rune let some of his walls down around him. Not because he wanted to, though. But because… he oddly felt safe enough to do so. He could not be more wrong. Sehun had never looked at him and he never would. Not that Rune was sure that he wanted Sehun to see him. It could only end badly, right?

Who was he kidding…

He longed for Sehun to see him, not to just look at him. But to _see_ him, good and proper. Sometimes, he hated himself for always being the one who garnered all these damned feelings for those that did not feel the same way for him.

Rune distracted himself with work. His job and his sister were the only things going on in his life and the only things that mattered anymore. But Sehun was a part of Sage’s life. He had been since they were very young, and he would continue to be for a long time. There was no way for Rune to run away from him anytime soon.

He was not sure he wanted to, anyway.

He rubbed his face with his hands and exhaled heavily. When he raised his head again, his eyes darted to Sehun, who was pulling his bike to the stands before he jumped off it and hastily started locking it with the hood of his jacket drawn over his head, not that it helped the rain from drenching him.

Rune climbed out of his car then and started toward Sehun.

“Sehun,” he called, voice booming over the cacophony of the storm.

Sehun halted in his tracks and turned around, eyes blinking the rainwater that skidded over the lashes. “Rune?” he said, face crumpling with both confusion and surprise. “What are you doing here?”

Rune ran a hand through his wet hair and said, “I was waiting for you. I have something to talk to you about.” He nodded his head toward his car.

Sehun followed him into the car without any further questions. “How long have you been waiting for?” he asked, shivering as he yanked his hood down. Rune cranked up the heater.

“A while,” he muttered, unable to look away when Sehun licked a raindrop from his lips. Clearing his tightening throat, he then reached for the files lying on the backseat.

“It’s pretty late.”

“Where were you?”

Sehun made a face. “It’s not what you think,” he scoffed. “I was at the library.”

“Not with Ethan, then?”

“No.” He chuckled, shoving his damp hair out of his forehead. “But if you’re asking we’re good, we are. We’re getting to know each other at the moment.”

“Good,” said Rune, tossing the files onto Sehun’s lap. “Then you’re about to get to know him a little bit better now.”

Sehun looked at him in bewilderment for a stretch before he picked up the folder and started flipping through it. As his face paled, his lips quivered, eyes turned sad, Rune’s heart clenched.

“What… is this?” he let out, gawking at the photographs.

“I had a colleague of mine tail your boyfriend,” said Rune. “Turns out, he’s quite the playboy.”

Sehun’s breathing was ragged as his gaze burned a hole through the pictures of Ethan getting cosy with a few other people.

“I’m sorry, Sehun,” Rune sighed. “But I just thought… you should know.”

Sehun slammed the folder shut and stared ahead at the rain ricocheting on the windshield for a long moment. Once the moment had passed, in a furious, indignant tone, he said, “Why would you do such a thing?”

Rune blinked. “What?”

Sehun turned his face to glare harshly at Rune. “Did I… ask you?”

Rune was stumped. “Sehun… I was just looking out for you.”

Sehun hurled the files back at Rune. “Can you not fucking poke your nose where it doesn’t belong, Rune?!”

“You’re telling me that me tailing him is a bigger problem than the fact that he’s only fooling around with you?”

Sehun looked mad now. “We just started dating! We’re not… exclusive. And… I… Sure, I didn’t know that he was seeing other people at the same time but… I just don’t get why you’re going to all this extent.”

Rune felt his chest tighten. He raised a hand to the steering wheel to grip it as his head fell back, eyes shut. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think… you’d be upset about me doing this.”

“Unbelievable,” Sehun spat.

Opening his eyes again, he turned them to look at Sehun. “I should have known that this isn’t what you… wanted.” He sighed. “I’m always an idiot when it comes to the people I…” he trailed off, running a hand over his stubble.

Sehun was staring at him now with narrowed eyes. “Rune?”

Rune looked away, swallowing hard.

“Do you have something to say?” Sehun said, scowling. Rune said nothing. He did have something to say. God, he always had something to say. But he just never could. For a man who was born with the confidence to move mountains, he sure was always tongue-tied and insecure when it came to the matter of love.

“Really?” Sehun let out, still sounding upset. “Nothing?”

Rune gave him no response. Because he was too afraid that if he opened his mouth or turned his head, he might lose the last of his self-restraint.

“Fine,” Sehun then spat and began to turn, hand reaching for the door handle.

That was when Rune grabbed the back of Sehun’s neck and tugged him forward. Before he could even register what he was doing, his fingers gripped Sehun’s hair at the nape of his neck, and he smashed their lips together. He felt Sehun take a gasping breath just before their lips met in a violent kiss.

_“Will you kiss me?”_

Rune recalled Sehun asking him to kiss him that night.

Was this what he had wanted when he was drunk?

Rune pulled back, lips throbbing, and looked at Sehun breathlessly, hand still cupping the back of Sehun’s head. Sehun had his eyes closed, fists clenched tightly on his lap.

_Shit, shit, shit._

“I’m sorry,” Rune began to say as his heart proceeded to ache with agony. “Sehun, I’m so—”

He was cut off when Sehun grabbed Rune’s jacket and pulled him forward until their mouths crashed again. It took Rune completely by surprise, and he thought that his heart might fall out of his chest.

Sehun was kissing him.

Rune shifted on his seat, fingers tightening around Sehun’s hair as he aggressively pulled Sehun closer to kiss him harder. Sehun’s own hands balled around Rune’s jacket and shirt, his mouth panting and gasping against Rune’s. This felt surreal, like a dream. Well, many of Rune’s dreams were a lot of like this.

Sehun shuddered at a thunderbolt that quaked the world around them and moaned into Rune’s mouth, tongue swiping along Rune’s lower lip as he tried to keep up with Rune’s kisses. He pulled back once to catch his breath and Rune allowed him a fraction of a second before he crushed Sehun’s lips under his own once more.

“Sehun,” he growled, catching Sehun’s bottom lip between his teeth, lightly tugging at it.

Sehun trembled, fingernails clawing at Rune’s neck before his hands fumbled to yank Rune’s jacket off. Taking it off, Rune withdrew for a moment, cupping Sehun’s cheek, a thumb running along Sehun’s cheekbone.

“Is that… what you wanted?” Sehun whispered, having run out of breath.

Rune frowned. “Is it not what… _you_ wanted?”

Sehun answered by kissing Rune desperately again. He walked his hands down Rune’s chest and abs before slipping them into Rune’s damp shirt. His cold fingers stung against Rune’s hot skin as he drew them along his waistline. When they started unbuckling the belt, Rune hurriedly captured Sehun’s wrists.

“Sehun,” he groaned and pulled back. “I… I like you. I know it’s… inappropriate. And you might not feel the same for me but… I like you. I always have.”

Sehun brushed the tip of their noses together a few times, his hot breath grazing Rune’s lips. “I know,” he let out. “I know, Rune.”

Rune wondered if Sehun had wound up remembering the night he had gotten drunk after all.

“Did you think… that I would break your heart, too?” he asked, frowning, fingers still hooked around Rune’s belt buckle.

“No, I just… You never look at me, Sehun,” Rune admitted, lowering his eyes.

Holding a side of Rune’s face, Sehun lifted it and pressed tender yet firm kisses on Rune’s cheeks before saying, “Who said I didn’t?”

With a deep, low growl rumbling in his chest, Rune pulled Sehun in for a forceful kiss. Sehun moaned a few times as Rune’s lips bruised his before they moved to kiss his neck. Once his hands had successfully undid the belt and fly of Rune’s pants, he slid one of them in and palmed Rune’s rapidly hardening cock over the fabric of his boxers. The contact snatched whatever breath that was left in Rune’s lungs, but in the heat of the moment, he did not care about what was about to happen next or why it was happening. It was happening, and he did not harbour the sobriety to stop it.

Sehun must have had the same idea because he was also sobbing for air, body squirming and lunging for more contact as he viciously kissed Rune. Rune’s beard that scraped Sehun’s face turned the skin deliciously pink. Perhaps Sehun had seen him after all.

“Fuck,” Rune hissed against Sehun’s mouth as the boy plunged his hand down Rune’s boxers and wrapped it around his erection.

The car was uncomfortable. But the storm was optimal. It muffled every noise that came from Rune’s throat as Sehun began to pump his swollen shaft. When he pulled back from the kiss this time, Sehun lurched after his lips, chasing for more before he paused and drowsily looked into Rune’s eyes.

He licked along Rune’s lips one last time before he leaned over the seat and bowed his head.

Rune tossed his head back and caught Sehun’s head as the latter sank in, lips wrapping around the cockhead. “Sehun,” he said in a raspy moan, eyes rolling back while Sehun curled his tongue around the tip of the cock.

Splaying his fingers over Rune’s abs under his shirt, Sehun took most of the man’s cock into his mouth and started sucking it, smearing it with his spit. He gagged a little when the cockhead slammed against the back of his throat. He eventually brought a knee to the seat while the other remained on the floor of the car as he sucked on the cockhead, the tip of his tongue flicking the leaking slit, hand stroking the length of the thick, arching cock.

Rune’s hand snaked down Sehun’s back as he yielded to the warm, wet mouth that was pleasuring him. It was all still unbelievable. But it was happening. And they both wanted it.

When his fingers slipped past the waistband of Sehun’s pants, he felt a moan reverberate from Sehun’s throat. He knew this was not the right time. But Rune was too tired of holding himself back. He wanted to touch Sehun. He wanted to fuck him senseless until he forgot his name.

Sehun whimpered but did not stop as he continued to suck on Rune’s throbbing member when Rune slid a finger down the cleft of his ass. The moans he made sounded encouraging, and they drove Rune half mad.

His fingers stroked and rubbed puckered rim of muscle until Sehun was starting to beg for more. Pulling his fingers back, Rune spat on them before slithering them back into Sehun’s pants.

Rubbing the spit to the opening, Rune lightly prodded the tip of a finger in. Sehun moaned once more, but he did not voice any objection. He was tight, but it was clear that this was not an alien sensation or experience to him. It honestly came as a relief.

“Ah,” Sehun let out, louder than he must have intended because he pressed his mouth to Rune’s thigh, hand still clutched around Rune’s cock as Rune shoved a middle finger into him. He was warm as he clenched around the finger. “Rune,” he moaned before he lifted his head again to draw his tongue up the underside of Rune’s erection.

Rune fingered him for a moment longer while Sehun sank back in to suck him off. Then as he felt himself edge closer to his climax, he retrieved his hand and caught the sides of Sehun’s face to pull him up so that he could sloppily kiss Sehun.

Sehun whimpered his name a few more times, his hand relentlessly tugging at Rune’s cock until he spilled, coming down hard like he was bathed in fire.

* * *

“I think it’s cute,” said Sage after she had taken a sip of her chai latte.

“Cut it out,” Rune warned her from where he sat at the table in the café.

“You’re growing soft, grandpa,” she teased him, poking a finger into his belly. “I’ve always wanted my best friend to officially be my family. Now, he gets to be my brother-in-law!”

Sehun palmed his face.

Rune felt his own face grow hot. “Too fast too soon,” he grumbled at his sister. He had not expected Sage to take this all so well. But then again, Sage took everything well. She was an optimist. But she genuinely seemed happy about the news of her brother and her best friend dating.

“It’s not too soon. Your white hairs starting to show. It’s about time you settled down. Well, I see that it may be a problem for Sehun since he’s a decade younger than you. But I absolutely love this!” she squealed. “We’re going to be closer than ever. But… maybe you two can spare me the details of your bedroom life—”

“God, Sage,” Sehun hissed at her.

“Now I don’t have to worry about my brother dying old.”

“I was not going to die alone,” Rune said. “I was planning to take you down with me to hell when I go.”

“Ha-ha.”

Sehun smiled to himself first before he turned the smile to Rune. The way he smiled always made Rune’s heart clamour. Except now, he knew the reason behind that smile.

“When did you start having the hots for my brother, though?” asked Sage, grimacing. “Ew. When you said that you thought my brother’s body was hot when we were like in high school, were you fantasizing about him?!”

Rune’s eyes widened. “You thought I was hot back then?” he asked Sehun, arching an eyebrow.

Sehun scowled at Sage. “Statute of limitation, Sage,” he snarled at her. Rune chuckled softly and shook his head as he caught Sehun’s hand under the table and gave it a light squeeze.

“You did see me,” he muttered, leaning in to Sehun’s ear.

Sehun bit his lip and refused to look at Rune as his cheeks crimsoned.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and leaving comments and kudos!


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